All andersen products are evaluated by the national fenestration rating council on several factors including u factor which is a measure of how much.
U factor for glass doors.
In the winter low e glass reflects heat back into the room keeping it warmer.
U factor is the rate at which a window door or skylight conducts non solar heat flow.
For most energy efficient windows the whole window u factor is higher than the center of glass u factor.
It also reflects part of ultraviolet light to protect interior furnishings from fading.
Low e or low emissivity is an invisible metallic coating on the glass designed to reflect infrared light keeping heat inside in the winter and outside in the summer.
Note that energy star considers glass doors to be a type of window.
This means doors can provide more insulation than a window or skylight can.
Here are a few terms to keep in mind.
Andersen offers a wide range of windows and doors that can be fitted with different types of paned glass.
For windows skylights and glass doors a u factor may refer to just the glass or glazing alone.
It s usually expressed in units of btu hr ft2 of.
Many doors don t have any glass like your front door but even doors with lots of glass like a sliding patio door have lower glass to frame ratios than windows or skylights.
High performance double pane windows can have u factors of 0 30 or lower while some triple pane.
The u value is directly opposite the numbers of an r value.
A rating factor that measures how much heat is lost through a given window.
The lower the u value the less heat is lost and the more insulating properties the window offers.
The label shows the solar heat gain coefficient shgc and u factor for the door.
They may add low emissivity coatings to the window glazing layers of glass use multiple layers of glass glazing insert gases between the layers of glass or add thermal breaks.
To decrease the u factor a lower u factor indicates the windows keep more of the heat inside manufacturers have several options.
A low u factor equates to a high r value and both mean the window offers good.
Doors are a little different.
A window s u factor indicates the amount of heat energy that can pass through the window.
What is the best r value for windows and doors.
Improved education and awareness of the cost of heating and cooling that escapes from poorly insulated components and glass panes have led to window and door manufacturers developing energy efficient windows and doors typically labeled r5 u 2 meaning the glass is the most energy efficient possible at a 5 rating and the window or door with all.
Shgc measures how well a product keeps out solar heat.
Look for a low shgc in a climate that mainly requires cooling and a high shgc in a climate that requires heating.
Low emissivity low e glass is a glass coating that improves the energy efficiency of your windows and patio doors.
Center of glass u factor is also sometimes referenced and describes the performance of the glazing alone without the effects of the frame.
In the summer it reflects heat away from your home keeping it cooler.
The range is from 0 to 1.